My ‘bets’ as host of Weakest Link

Last Tuesday, I made a report in this column on how Viva TV is preparing Allan K. to take over The Weakest Link hosting job Edu Manzano is leaving behind. Although the London producers of the syndicated game show have already approved the selection of Allan K. as Edu’s replacement, the very talented standup comic has yet to sign a contract with Viva TV as of press time.

While writing that piece, something crossed my mind: While Allan K. is a good choice (I know he’ll be very effective in the program), he may have problems with the taping schedules of the game show considering the fact that he is one of the entertainment industry’s busiest artists. What if he is unable to squeeze in this commitment and decides not to accept the job, who else could take over Edu as host of The Weakest Link?

It was at this point that I started ticking off names in my mind. Believe me, there are other possible contenders for the job. Actually, the job requires somebody who can throw sarcastic remarks without necessarily being offensive – somebody who can be acerbic; but still delightful. Below are just some of the names I thought would make a good host of The Weakest Link.

• Dina Bonnevie – I think she is perfect for the job. To begin with, she can afford to be mataray because, well, she is both intelligent and beautiful. She can be sweet if she wants to, but is never afraid to speak her mind.

• Bing Loyzaga – She doesn’t even have to speak. All she has to do is raise her eyebrows at the weakest link and the poor contestant will be intimidated no end.

• Martin Nievera – He doesn’t even need a script. He seems quite impatient and his frustration over the bungling contestants may just manifest itself because he is really very transparent.

• Ariel Ureta – In his heyday, he would have been a shoo-in for the job. Too bad, there was no show like this in the ’70s, which was the peak of his career.

• Danny Javier – Among the APO members, he has the most intimidating presence. He is always very honest with his remarks and is not the type who would sugarcoat his words, which are often precise and direct to the point.

• Maricel Soriano – The queen of taray herself. Mataray, but very lovable.

• Alessandra de Rossi – Let’s just hope Rep. Jules Ledesma doesn’t become one of the contestants.

• Gelli de Belen – She has considerably mellowed. But being a good actress and host, all she needs is a script dripping with sarcasm and she’ll still be effective.

• Richard Gomez – Highly opinionated and always fearless with his remarks, he probably could even reduce the contestants to tears. (And just as an aside, he is doing extremely well as a talk show host in S-Files.)

• Celia Rodriguez – If Maricel Soriano is the Queen of taray, Celia Rodriguez is the Empress.

• Sharon Cuneta – Although she is the epitome of sweetness (which she really is even in real life), she can also show some fang when necessary. How do you think she became so effective in those movies where she had to fight back toward the end of the film?

• Korina Sanchez – If she was able to intimidate those cops and politicians, what’s a bunch of contestants with her?

• Gladys Reyes – Despite her being pint-sized, she can drive even the burliest-looking contestants to hide under his mother’s skirt.

• Armida Siguion-Reyna – I can’t wait to see what she’ll do on the day the MTRCB members become her contestants.

• Winnie Monsod – In Debate With Mare at Pare, she makes no effort to hide her annoyance with panelists and people in the gallery whose arguments are way out of line.

• Odette Khan – She only has to glare at the contestants to show that she isn’t too pleased with the group’s performance.

• Lolit Solis – While she may be perfect for the part, there’s a chance she’ll cancel the game at the last minute and reformat the show into a 60-minute Alok-bati portion.

Actually, The Weakest Link host need not really be acerbic in real life. It’s really just a matter of projection. Some of the names we mentioned as possible host of this game show, in fact, are among the nicest people in the local entertainment industry. Celia Rodriguez, for example, may look menacing to some people – no thanks to her contravida roles – but in real life, she is a very nice person and a practicing Christian who lives by the Word of the Lord.

Going over our list of possible. The Weakest Link host, we see some common denominators. They are intelligent, articulates and have strong personalities. In fact, if life were a game, they would probably never be voted off as the Weakest Link.